Parents of over 200 medical students, who were granted admission under 'management' quota or B category seats in Andhra and Tamil Nadu, were issued notices by the Income Tax department from Vijayawada.
According to reports, the parents were suspected to earn more than Rs.10 lakh per month, which would result in an income tax demand of 30 percent.
The students were mostly from Vijayawada, Guntur and Prakasam districts.
However, the IT department stated that they would not reveal any details and said they would not force, pressure or harass the parents.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, commissioner of Income Tax Sunil Kumar Ojha, said:
We have sent notices basing on information we have that some of them are filing tax returns which do not reflect their income properly. They have to substantiate their claims in their tax returns before September 30. After that, the department will act in accordance with law.
The parents who were contacted by the newspaper denied the allegations.
Earlier this month, Lok Satta Party former State president K. Srinivasa Rao has said that the ‘B’ category seats were helping private medical colleges mint money at the cost of merit.
The Hindu had reported:
Andhra Pradesh has 670 such seats, and they were put in the market to the detriment of thousands of students who had toiled day and night to secure admission to MBBS and BDS courses. Mr. Srinivasa Rao stated in a press release that it was an over Rs.1,000-crore scandal in the making due to the government’s negligence.
Rao had also alleged that private colleges in Andhra had formed a syndicate to exploit the demand for admissions.